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Alorian Coal Board
The Alorian Coal Board is a nationalised company which oversees the operation of the majority of coal mines in Aloria. In recent years, many have been privatised due to the government's decision to move away from fossil fuels. Notoriously, the ACB has been known to be a badly run organisation, with poor oversight from the government. This has led to calls for the company to be privatised completely. Historical Reliance on Coal Aloria has historically relied on fossil fuels, with coal being a major source of power due to its abundance in Aloria. This led to the coal industry being a major employer in Aloria, and it was seen for a long time as an industry that will never die due to Aloria's economic reliance on exports of natural resources, including coal. By the 47th Century, it started to become clear that it was cheaper to import coal in order to produce energy. This led to the demand for Alorian coal internally, however it also caused problems for the nation's coal industry internationally. Aloria was simply not able to compete with other nations in the coal industry due to a number of factors, including Aloria's stringent laws surrounding environmental protections and workers' rights. The decline of the coal industry was a major cause of Aloria's economic decline in the first half of the 47th Century. 4640s: Partial Privatisation The ACB's hayday was seen to be coming to an end by the 4640s due to the cheapness of foreign coal imports and the end of the socialist government. In the first half of the decade, nearly 15% of coal mines were privatised. Due to increasing concerns about environmental change, coupled with the unprofitability of the industry, it was seen as beneficial to the taxpayer to sell off some of the mines. 'ACB in Jeopardy' In 4647, the Libertarian Party won the election. In a time of recession, selling off the rest of the ACB seemed like an attractive idea to the Libertarian government. However, as it was seen as unlikely that a buyer would be found, in 4649 the government announced their intentions to close all of Aloria's coal mines. This plan was met with anger by the trade unions, and the National Union of Coal Miners (NUCM) voted in favour of taking strike action. Sale of the Alorian Coal Board Within days of this announcement by the NUCM, it was leaked that the government was in talks with a Kazulian company to sell off the ACB, and this led to the NUCM halting any strike action. Later, the company was named as Alternex Verdalros, a major Kazulian company involved with heavy industries around Terra. In June 4650, it was announced that Verdalros had successfully bought out the ACB. The Alorian branch of the company was renamed Alternex Verdalros ACB and was valued at 60 billion ALO. Employees of the ACB were rehired by the new company, leading to the National Union of Coal Miners calling off strike action immediately.